postId

variant

stroke

lede/featured-post

Luis Paez-Pumar

Rodri #16 of Spain lifts the FIFA World Cup Winner’s Trophy after the team’s victory following the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Soccer

Spain Won As Only Spain Can

align

backgroundColor

style

aspectRatioOption

lede/post-card

Politics

Alligator Alcatraz Isn’t Just An American Fantasy

Staff Chat

Staff Chat Starts Now? Staff Chat Starts Now

Announcements

The Defector Interns Say Fogo de “Ciao”

Why Your Team Sucks

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Dallas Cowboys

lede/post-grid

title

layout

taxonomy

termId

termTitle

termLink

bylineOption

lede/featured-topic

FIFA President Gianni Infantino gestures before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Is This The End For Gianni Infantino?

Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, speaks during the 50th UEFA Ordinary Congress Meeting at Brussels Expo on February 12, 2026 in Brussels, Belgium.

UEFA Is Ready To Go To War With FIFA Over The World Cup

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (L) and United States of America President Donald Trump (R) look on following the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, United States.

Gianni Infantino Is Putting The World Cup Up For Sale

Andrea Pirlo of UC Sampdoria looks during the Serie B match between US Salernitana and UC Sampdoria at Stadio Arechi on August 27, 2024 in Salerno, Italy.

Italian National Team Plans, Then Cancels Its Andrea Pirlo Party

width

className

textColor

core/navigation

core/group

core/paragraph

core/heading

level

core/list

core/image

core/column

postCount

lede/post-river

subtitle

lede/newsletter

displayCta

core/columns

CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Sarah Borus

Asylum seekers, who entered Israel illegally via Egypt, lean at the fence of the Holot detention centre in Israel's southern Negev Desert, on February 17, 2014.

Defector Staff

Undated group photo of the original "Our Gang."

Sohini Desai

<p>Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


Drew Magary

Giri Nathan

LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets attends a 2025 NBA Summer League game

Interviews

Let’s Unpack LaMelo Ball’s Sugary Abode

Ray Ratto

Sportscaster Mike Krukow watches from the broadcast center between the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park on October 1, 2021 in San Francisco, California.

Mike Krukow, One Of Baseball’s Greatest Hangs, Is Ready To Go

page

Legacy Homepage

SPORTS

CULTURE

OTHER

Legacy Homepage

Spain Won As Only Spain Can

Alligator Alcatraz Isn’t Just An American Fantasy

Staff Chat Starts Now? Staff Chat Starts Now

The Defector Interns Say Fogo de “Ciao”

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Dallas Cowboys

Soccer

Is This The End For Gianni Infantino?

UEFA Is Ready To Go To War With FIFA Over The World Cup

Gianni Infantino Is Putting The World Cup Up For Sale

Italian National Team Plans, Then Cancels Its Andrea Pirlo Party

Defector Programming

(All times ET)

More Stuff

Let’s Unpack LaMelo Ball’s Sugary Abode

Mike Krukow, One Of Baseball’s Greatest Hangs, Is Ready To Go

CarJitsu Is Precisely As Dumb As It Sounds

Chelsea Gray Punished Caitlin Clark’s Mistakes

Would You Eat This Cretaceous Turducken?

Stay in touch

The Washington Mystics Don’t Act Their Age

Mugged By Seagulls, With Rohan Nadkarni

It’s Jefry Yan Time

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Miami Dolphins